Article: Has Virgin Australia Had Its Goldilocks Moment?

[AFF Editor]

Has Virgin Australia Had Its Goldilocks Moment? is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Has Virgin Australia Had Its Goldilocks Moment?

In the seven years leading up to the pandemic, Virgin Australia never once made an annual profit. Already in a weak financial position, it didn't take

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[RooFlyer]

I agree the virgin is currently a very good option especially for short haul flights. Their business is comfortable and the service is very good; I haven’t tried economy yet. Lack of business lounges seems to be a negative.

I hope they don’t float any time soon because that will mean a plumping up of the business from the financial perspective, which usually means a deterioration of experience for customers.

 

[ncraigm]

I've been impressed with Virgin on the 8 sectors I've taken with them this year. All punctual and without issue, plus the lounges have been pleasant and uncrowded. Compared with the Red Roo who have managed 6 delays in a row and a misplaced suitcase for good measure. And the QP at SYD last night was as close to a zoo as I've ever seen. A few uncaged lions wouldn't have been detrimental to the vibe.

Thankfully my next few trips are on VA (writing this as a QF LTG and long time QF fanboi).

 

[Bundy Bear]

Another one who is impressed with Virgin, they don't need to do too much more right accept start flying to Auckland, and if Japan comes off good but its not a deal breaker for me.
I don't need wifi on a plane I'm happy to disconnect for a few hours and watch a video or listen to some music without thinking I should check emails, I can switch off from the outside world.

 

[corrocoat]

Virgin did make a profit before Bain- they just offshored the money to avoid tax. I have flow them a lot recently and the canceled flight ( for "operational reasons" ) notifications 30 minutes before you leave home that are confusing and with no call center open at that time. That and the overseas call center not understanding = want I perceive a lack of respect for their platinum clients- AND they just don't get it. Can I have an airline that does get it, please?

 

[jase05]

I agree the virgin is currently a very good option especially for short haul flights. Their business is comfortable and the service is very good; I haven’t tried economy yet. Lack of business lounges seems to be a negative.

I hope they don’t float any time soon because that will mean a plumping up of the business from the financial perspective, which usually means a deterioration of experience for customers.

I’d expect Bain to step back next year and sell off 40-50%.
They are doing a lot right and although I have to use QF for work I use VA for 95% of my domestic leisure travel all in J and they offer a much better product IMO.
My main gripe is the lounge situation especially for International and it’s my belief that you shouldn’t start a route until you have those bases covered so at present places like Fiji, Bali and NZ are off limits to me with VA. Greater visibility also needs to be in place for the all Y fleet and I hate the idea of floating them around the system and being “pot luck” when you strike one. I will be absolutely filthy if I booked J only to find one of those pieces of junk replacing it.
I’m loving the new partnerships and hopefully all issues are ironed out soon and done further announcements are in the pipeline

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

We probably have to wait and see what Rex will do, FF system wise.
They are linked now to DL, they might join ST.
Who knows.
But if VA did more wow factors, maybe it could do/work wonders.
For now, I put half of my flying with VA and half with the Red Roo.
No more VGW is a real downside, now the only good thing about VFF is FB,
No 7elevens in South Aust also makes it harder to earn VFF on the ground, of course that is no fault of VA/VFF.
To sum up, they are getting a bit dim in my POV, flying wise.

 

[HS-TQE]

There is also EK joining up with VA's partner UA (who in turn has a partnership with QF). Whilst QF's Oneworld stablemate has QR has a partnership with VA. This leaves EY as the odd one out with a reduced partnership with VA, which is just.. there.

It also opens the door for EY to also join as a REX partner if they feel they need another Australian partner to compliment their now reduced secondary partnership with VA.

 

[jase05]

There is also EK joining up with VA's partner UA (who in turn has a partnership with QF). Whilst QF's Oneworld stablemate has QR has a partnership with VA. This leaves EY as the odd one out with a reduced partnership with VA, which is just.. there.

It also opens the door for EY to also join as a REX partner if they feel they need another Australian partner to compliment their now reduced secondary partnership with VA.

May have been a coincidence but on one of my most recent EY flights evidently there were a few VA FF’s onboard and I know there were at least 4 VA Plats in J (myself, Mrs Jase and another couple) and with the onboard announcement they said “Welcome onboard to our EY Guest members plus other partners especially VA FF’s”
Then as the champagne was being offered the CSM introduced himself and said “Welcome Mr Jase it’s always good to see our VA Plats”. He did the same to Mrs Jase and the other couple aswell. I hadn’t seen that much attention to detail from them in the dozens of previous flights with EY and it seemed like a concerted effort by them. I’m thinking it may have just been luck (the next flight there were no announcements) but it made us feel welcomed and as always it was a great flight. I’d hate to lose them as VA partners.

You also have EK now entering into a partnership with AC (another VA partner) and EK and AC are setting up reciprocal FF benefits which is another interesting twist

 

[stm1sydney]

Based on my needs, I consider VA a full-service airline. Plus they are generally cheaper and have better service standards than QF. Internationally, they have excellent coverage via their alliances, particularly SQ which I like. So all good for me.

 

[1022]

As a switcheroo gold, I'm still on the fence. My VA experience today was pretty pedestrian. The SYD premium checkin/bagdrop queue moved very slowly with only one counter open, staffed by someone who really didn't exude "premium" vibes. (I missed being able to roll my bag with QTag coasters straight to the belt). T2 is a nightmare of course and that's largely beyond VA's control. Though the experience could be slightly improved if they were willing to stump up cash for a premium security lane or two seeing as direct lounge entry is only open a couple of hours early in the morning after very recently reopening. The lounge felt cramped, even though it wasn't totally packed. (Horrid kids and their oblivious parents who took up way more space than necessary nearby didn't help - not VA's fault obviously and I should have just moved). Kudos for much better food around midday than the QP however. Premium boarding kind of worked which we know is more than can be said for QF. On board service was young and unpolished in Y as has been my overall impression of VA cabin crew in Y over the years - ranging from enthusiastic to robotic. Premium tagged bags were the very last to appear on the belt in BNK.

All this today was a bit of a contrast to a pretty decent experience last week. So I'll persist to earn my switcheroo status match 80SCs but right now it's a coin toss as to whether I'll commit to jumping ship. If I was predominantly a J flyer domestically, I'd have far less hesitation. VA J beats QF 8 times out of 10 I'd say. But as someone who earns my mid-tier status primarily via golden triangle milk runs on cheap fares, things like terminal experience take on a bit more importance. VA hasn't quite wooed me with Goldilocks credentials yet, but I'm much more open minded than I was before QF started dropping the ball so much lately.

 

[MooTime]

As a switcheroo gold, I'm still on the fence. My VA experience today was pretty pedestrian. The SYD premium checkin/bagdrop queue moved very slowly with only one counter open, staffed by someone who really didn't exude "premium" vibes. (I missed being able to roll my bag with QTag coasters straight to the belt). T2 is a nightmare of course and that's largely beyond VA's control. Though the experience could be slightly improved if they were willing to stump up cash for a premium security lane or two seeing as direct lounge entry is only open a couple of hours early in the morning after very recently reopening. The lounge felt cramped, even though it wasn't totally packed. (Horrid kids and their oblivious parents who took up way more space than necessary nearby didn't help - not VA's fault obviously and I should have just moved). Kudos for much better food around midday than the QP however. Premium boarding kind of worked which we know is more than can be said for QF. On board service was young and unpolished in Y as has been my overall impression of VA cabin crew in Y over the years - ranging from enthusiastic to robotic. Premium tagged bags were the very last to appear on the belt in BNK.

All this today was a bit of a contrast to a pretty decent experience last week. So I'll persist to earn my switcheroo status match 80SCs but right now it's a coin toss as to whether I'll commit to jumping ship. If I was predominantly a J flyer domestically, I'd have far less hesitation. VA J beats QF 8 times out of 10 I'd say. But as someone who earns my mid-tier status primarily via golden triangle milk runs on cheap fares, things like terminal experience take on a bit more importance. VA hasn't quite wooed me with Goldilocks credentials yet, but I'm much more open minded than I was before QF started dropping the ball so much lately.

Great review, very fair and impartial.
Cheers.

 

[dk4]

...Premium tagged bags were the very last to appear on the belt in BNK...

I have been watching their baggage loading patterns on the tarmac in SYDney over the last few months of flying. And even when it's raining, they are consistently putting the premium tagged bags on last (so they should be first off, in theory, at the other end).

When all the baggage comes out to the tarmac on trolleys to get loaded, the premium tagged bags (and yellow/black tagged transfer bags) are all placed on a separate trolley or one side of a trolley, making it easier for the baggage handler. But I have noticed the baggage handlers do actively check the trolleys and appear to make an effort to also ensure they don't put any premium tagged bags on until last.

If a trolley has both premium and non-premium tagged bags on it, and there is a second trolley of non-premium tagged bags still to go, they stop half way through the first trolley (once all non-premium tags are loaded) and move it aside, while they clear the second trolley, then come back to the first trolley and load the premium tagged bags last. (AND, if it is raining, they don't even use that as an excuse to "just get everything on quickly, regardless of order" - they will pull a tarp over the premium bags to keep the rain off, ensuring they still go in last and aren't left in the rain while they wait on the tarmac.)

As an aside, after arriving in Melbourne the other day, all the premium bags came out first in one burst, with quite a wait before a second burst with the rest of the bags. So, they may be using a dual delivery system there now!? Where once the trolley full of premium bags is offloaded from the plane, it is immediately transferred to the baggage carousel, rather than wait for all the bags to be off-loaded before transfer in one go. It was slick, and I hope they continue it as a process, as most of the premium passengers were disappearing off with their bags as the other passengers were still arriving around the carousel, which helped reduce congestion for everyone! (Even though they have 3 carousels up and running in Melbourne now, it is still a cramped little area.) Years ago Qantas use to do this at various ports, and it was fantastic, particularly SYDney, where by the time you walked to the baggage carousel, your bags were coming out at the same time.

 

[twiningb]

You also have EK now entering into a partnership with AC (another VA partner) and EK and AC are setting up reciprocal FF benefits which is another interesting twist

And AC also allow both earn and burn on EY.

 

[HS-TQE]

And AC also allow both earn and burn on EY.

Same as VA does now with EY (albeit reduced as a secondary partner), despite QR largely taking over from EY as a 'lead' VA partner.

 

[dk4]

...all the premium bags came out first in one burst, with quite a wait before a second burst with the rest of the bags. So, they may be using a dual delivery system there now!? Where once the trolley full of premium bags is offloaded from the plane, it is immediately transferred to the baggage carousel, rather than wait for all the bags to be off-loaded before transfer in one go...

I was in the MEL lounge the other day and was watching them unload the plane parked at the gate closed to the lounge window, and two tractors and trolleys turned up at the same time, and parked parallel to each other, All priority bags were pushed over onto to the furthest trolley, which was the first to leave the plane's side - so obviously this is what they are doing in Melbourne. WONDERFUL!

As an aside, on arrival in Sydney my bags arrived at the carousel just after I did, so this might be a "wonderful" network wide change for baggage processing? I also noticed in Melbourne they weren't tagging bags with orange priority tags, but the printed tags now have a "P" on them, similar to how Qantas prints priority status straight onto the bag tag.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Probably a money and extra paper saving measure, and not having a staff member to loop the string or spongy string around the handle of bags, also time saving measure, them not having to do an orange (extra) tag for the bag.

 

[AIRwin]

Probably a money and extra paper saving measure

As long as priority baggage still works...

 

[jakeseven7]

I was in the MEL lounge the other day and was watching them unload the plane parked at the gate closed to the lounge window, and two tractors and trolleys turned up at the same time, and parked parallel to each other, All priority bags were pushed over onto to the furthest trolley, which was the first to leave the plane's side - so obviously this is what they are doing in Melbourne. WONDERFUL!

As an aside, on arrival in Sydney my bags arrived at the carousel just after I did, so this might be a "wonderful" network wide change for baggage processing? I also noticed in Melbourne they weren't tagging bags with orange priority tags, but the printed tags now have a "P" on them, similar to how Qantas prints priority status straight onto the bag tag.

View attachment 307031

Correct, this has been happening for a while obviously with self check in and soon all check in the tags will be removed completely according to a MEL ground staff person.

Priority delivery is hit and miss anyway, I haven’t noticed much different without the colourful tags to be honest.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Hopefully the NH ANA logo will appear on the list of partner airlines, at the moment, it seems a half hearted measure of VA to say, ANA is a airline partner, but the ANA logo is not on the list.
But they were very quick to add the QR Qatar logo to their airline partner list.